Harley Earl Corvettes - Harley's Riders

An Exclusive Look At Some Of The One-Off Corvettes Of Legendary GM Designer Harley Earl

Harley Earl, the General Motors VP/Director of Styling and Design who unveiled the very first concept vehicle, and whose "dream" cars such as the GM LeSabre defined the Motoramas of the 1950s, occupies a very special place in the history of the Corvette.

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Earl is considered by many historians to be the father of the Corvette, for it was his wild imagination that gestated the idea. The inspiration, or "muse," as Earl's grandson Richard explains it, was the time Earl spent with the LeSabre concept car, specifically when he chaperoned it and drove it as the pace car at an auto race in Watkins Glen, New York, in September 1951.

In a January 1954 interview with Detroit journalist Stanley H. Brams, Earl acknowledged his parental role in the Corvette's creation. "The Corvette was a little thing that I started," Earl said. "I ran that LeSabre up pacing a sports-car race at Watkins Glen, and that's where I got the idea."

Throughout the Corvette's introduction year, Earl was the car's biggest proponent within GM. It was he who staged the parade of 28 red, white, and black Corvettes that cruised down a Southern California freeway on May 1953. If he wanted somebody to have a Corvette-for TV, movies, publicity, or as a favor-he always got his way. One notable example was the second '53 Corvette off of the Flint, Michigan, assembly line. It went to Earl's younger brother, William "Bill" Earl, with a license plate that read "FLA," simply because that's the way Harley wanted it. (This particular Corvette was used by the Earl family in South Florida, where they vacationed in the 1950s.)

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In the mid- and late-'50s Earl worked on space-age experimental cars that he dreamed would someday fill the highways and city streets across America. He designed and developed the Firebird I, Firebird II, and Firebird III gas-turbine "cars of the future," and devoted his final years at GM to the Cadillac Cyclone, a dream car that was light-years ahead of its time. In December 1958 Earl retired from GM, after years of what is considered by many to be the golden age of not only the automobile-design profession, but also the entire American auto industry.

In 1959, Earl moved to a new home at 995 South Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach, Florida. "Harley and Sue Earl lived in a modest, three-bedroom, Bermuda-styled house on the beach," recalls Harley's daughter-in-law, Connie Earl. "He liked to take long beach walks and often went fishing for pompano, knowing that they are excellent eating. Most of the time, Harley kept to himself. I don't think anyone knew him well. His number one love in life, even over his family, was automobiles.

"Many people would slow up and do a drive-by of Harley's oceanfront house, to see the rare Corvettes designed by him, or sneak a peek to see if any other GM Motorama 'dream' cars were there, like the LeSabre or the Oldsmobile F88 II or F88 III," Connie continues. "Back then, during practically anytime in the 1960s, you couldn't miss seeing a sunburst-colored Corvette sitting on Harley's driveway, soaking up the Florida sun."

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Harley Earl died in 1969, and the days of wild, custom Corvettes at the Earl household drew to a close. "I remember in the early '70s, when getting into Grandma Sue's yellow Firebird, she'd sometimes say how sad it was to no longer drive one-of-a-kind Corvettes. She'd remind us that once Harley passed away, GM stopped supplying free Corvettes to us," Connie says.

GM never had a need to photograph the one-of-a-kind Corvettes that populated the driveway of Harley's Palm Beach house, but the Earl family took pictures of these and the other notable cars that arrived there on a frequent basis. The vast majority of the surviving photos are from the years 1963-1967. According to Harley's grandson Richard, "We had many more photos, but they were destroyed accidentally in the 1970s."

So come with us now, as we tell a story that has been waiting more than 40 years to be told: the Corvettes in Harley Earl's driveway.

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Harley Earl Corvettes - Harley's Riders

Harley Earl designed the custom Corvettes he wanted for his and his family's personal use by sitting down at a rendering board at his home in Palm Beach, Florida. He'd give the renderings to Chevrolet General Manager Semon "Bunkie" Knudsen for Chevrolet to build. As the first VP of General Motors Styling and Design, and even well into his retirement, Earl had the authority to order any Corvette he wanted, at any time, in any color, and with any options, even if those features wouldn't be available on the car for years to come. This custom '63 convertible, which recently sold at auction for $925,000, is just one example.

Earl's earlier creation, the $7 million '51 GM LeSabre one-off "dream car" got him thinking about creating another two-seater. According to grandson Richard, "Harley wanted to give a slice of the magnificence of the GM LeSabre motoramic masterpiece to the American public, but in an affordable sports car that would make them think they were driving the American dream." The car, of course, was the Corvette.

There's more similarity between the LeSabre showcar and the first-year Corvette than you may realize. Yes, both were two-seaters, but did you know that both cockpits share the same design DNA? They even have the exact same "first ever" wrap-around panoramic windshield.

Earl sent one of the earliest-production '53 Corvettes to Glen Chevrolet, to get public reaction before, during, and after the annual Watkins Glen race. That's Nick Fraboni, the dealership's owner, sitting in the driver seat. Who in this photo could have imagined that the Corvette would go on to become an automotive icon, one beloved by millions of fans worldwide?

Earl was one of the founding supporters of NASCAR and was close friends with Bill France, Sr, and his wife, Anne. Here, Earl poses with his custom '63 Corvette convertible at the Daytona Speedway. Take a look at the hat he's wearing: It was given to him as a personal gift by French President Charles de Gaulle.

By 1959 Earl and his wife, Sue, had taken up residence at a modest oceanfront home in Palm Beach, Florida. Even then, Chevrolet continued to send its latest Corvettes to the Earls to use and enjoy. Here's the couple enjoying a party at their home shortly after Harley announced his retirement from GM in December 1958.

Here's Chevrolet General Manager Bunkie Knudsen (and son Peter) with his own custom '63 Corvette, at Harley's house in 1963. (Notice that this particular Corvette is a 327/360 FI convertible.) Knudsen bought the property next door to the Earl residence after Harley's death in 1969.

Sue Earl wasn't going to be left out of having fun with her own '63 Corvette. She had Harley order her a custom-painted (by Chevy) Coral Pink Sting Ray to match the color of their house. Note the handmade Italian Borrani wire wheels. Harley's daughter, Connie, recalls an amusing anecdote involving Sue and this car: "Sue had a lead foot and often got stopped by the Palm Beach Police. One time she got stopped and thought she was going to get a ticket, but the officer informed her he saw her purse fly off the roof of her pink Corvette and had stopped to pick it up. He just wanted to return her purse! She sent in a donation check to the Palm Beach Police Department after this episode."

Harley's custom '63 Corvette convertible is one of the most valuable midyear Corvettes on the face of the planet today, but in 1964, it was a great playground for his grandson, Richard. Notice the Corvette's aggressive custom side pipes, which were hand-fabricated by the craftsmen at GM Styling. According to Richard, "If you weren't careful, you could burn your leg on them if you had shorts on. But Pops, as we called Harley when we were kids, always made certain we were very, very careful getting in and out of this particular Corvette."

Can you imagine the shock you'd get at a Corvette show if you let your child

Harley and Sue were known for their custom, one-of-a-kind, his-and-hers Corvettes, which they would typically upgrade every model year or two. Here, Harley's granddaughter, Alexandra, smiles with her hand on Sue's '66 Coral Pink Corvette coupe, while Harley's '63 convertible roadster is parked on the right. His-and-hers Corvettes were the standard drivers for Harley and Sue throughout the 1960s.

Sue Earl always lived up to being "Mrs. Harley J. Earl" and was passionate about the automobiles she drove. Here she is with grandson Courtney in 1966.

Bunkie Knudsen shows up for another photo-op in the Earl driveway. This time, there's a '66 Sunfire Yellow Corvette convertible in addition to Harley's '63 convertible and Sue's '66 coupe.

Harley Earl's daughter-in-law, Connie, looks back at the camera from the driver seat of his '63 Corvette in this 1967 photo. (Notice the Oldsmobile F88 experimental concept car in the background.) Today, Connie has vivid memories of Earl's legacy. "I loved every single one of Harley's concept cars and his custom-designed Corvettes. I remain passionate about talking about these times and the remarkable automobiles in Harley's driveway," she tells VETTE.

In this feature article we take a look at this 1963 Chevrolet Corvette roadster which is the last Corvette designed by Harley Earl and also was owned by the prolific GM designer - Corvette Fever Magazine » Read More

A few months ago, Mecum Chicago saw the sale of Harley J. Earl’s own 1963 Corvette which brought in $1.5 million, taking the spot as the top seller for the Chicago auction. Now, the Corvette belonging to Mrs. Harley J. Earl is hitting the block. » Read More